pannacotta Archives - Anna May, everyday...Anna May, everyday…

No secret that I love a pannacotta – all that silky wobbliness makes them irresistible to me. They are also on of the easiest puds to whip up and the fact they need to be made ahead of time only adds to their appeal. I love knowing that pudding is already made and sitting patiently in the fridge, a tick on the to do list.

So far I’ve given you Vanilla Pannacotta with Blackcurrants (July 2014), a Summer regular for sure and possibly my children’s favourite incarnation. Some good vanilla along with the slight tang of the yogurt is heaven and amazing with heady blackcurrants. You can of course use which ever soft fruits are at the best or indeed the rhubarb that follows with this recipe. The Cinnamon Pannacotta with Maple Syrup Apples (June 2015) makes me think of Autumn, crunchy leaves, mulled cider and bonfires.

Time for a new kid on the block and this is it. For ages I have been tinkering with the idea of a rosemary scented pudding. I couldn’t help but feel that the woody, herbaceous note would work well with a creamy base and in fact a rosemary ice cream is definitely on the agenda come the Summer. More than that though, whilst I use piles of herbs in savoury dishes I thought I might be overlooking them in a sweet context.

Here we are then. The rosemary adds a delicate flavour, one of those you can’t immediately place, and works a proper treat with the rhubarb. I love rhubarb, am always looking for different ways to use it and this is my current favourite. Heady with orange (actually tangerine) zest and juice it brings a wallop of flavour to the gently, soft pannacotta.

Rosemary Pannacotta with Rhubarb

200ml whole milk

100ml single cream

100ml Greek yogurt

60g caster sugar

A sprig of rosemary around the same size as the one in the photograph above

2 gelatine leaves

250g rhubarb, chopped into pieces

25-35g caster sugar

Zest and juice of an orange (or tangerine)

Put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water to soften. Heat the milk, cream, sugar and rosemary until it just reaches boiling point. Remove from the heat and add the squeezed out gelatine, whisk well and leave to cool and infuse, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the yogurt and divide between 4 ramekins or small metal moulds. Put into the fridge for at least 4 hours to set. Meanwhile cook the rhubarb with the zest, juice and 25g sugar either in a pan or if the oven is on put it in there. It doesn’t take very long but I wouldn’t put the oven on just for this. When soft and juicy have a taste, you might need some or all of the extra 10g of sugar, then leave to cool. To serve, dip each ramekin briefly into hot water before turning out onto a plate and serving with a spoonful of the rhubarb. Serves 4.

To me this has a faintly Autumnal air about it and I had been saving it until the end of the Summer but then someone asked me for the recipe. In truth it is good any day of year and as apples are around all the time a good one to have up your sleeve.

I adore Pannacotta, there is something about the creamy wobbliness that is irresistible. Usually I make a vanilla version which I can then serve with any fruit that happens to be in season, pureed gooseberries, rhubarb and blackcurrants all being favourites. Should the fruit bowl be bare however, then a good chocolate sauce (one without cream) makes them a pudding of dreams. You can find my Vanilla Pannacotta here (July 2014).

This one came about because I’d made a note ages ago to combine cinnamon with apples and maple syrup and eventually got around to having a go. A favourite North American combination I suspect and a possible Jelly Bean one too if that is your thing. I tried pie and crumble and whilst a good combo the individual flavours got a little muddled. An ice cream was a nice idea but try getting apples to make themselves heard against cinnamon in an ice cream. This pannacotta really works though. Gently bosky sweetness from the cinnamon goes so well with the creaminess of the pannacotta which is kept the right side of too rich with the addition of yogurt. The apples and maple syrup compliment each other politely, allowing both to show themselves off.

Cinnamon Pannacotta with Maple Syrup Apples

On another occasion just make a panful of these sweet, soft apples and serve over vanilla ice cream.

200ml whole milk

100ml single cream

100ml Greek yogurt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

60g caster sugar

2 gelatine leaves

2 eating apples such as Braeburn, peeled, cored and finely sliced

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Put the gelatine in a bowl of cold water to soften. Heat the milk, cream, cinnamon and sugar until it just reaches boiling point. Remove from the heat and add the squeezed out gelatine, whisk well and leave to cool, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the yogurt and divide between 4 ramekins or small metal moulds. Put into the fridge for at least 4 hours to set. About 20 minutes before serving prepare the apples, melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the apples gently in this for about 10 minutes until turning golden brown and becoming floppy. At this point add the maple syrup and cook for a further 5 minutes until the apples are well coated and the syrup reduced. To serve, dip each ramekin briefly into hot water before turning out onto a plate and serve with the apples. Serves 4.